Word: amazon
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...goes according to his daring--some might say outlandish--plan, this warehouse will be at capacity within the next few years and will handle everything: washing machines, cars, rubber gaskets, Prozac, exercise machines, marmalade, model airplanes, everything but firearms and certain live animals. You name it, Amazon will sell it. "Anything," says Bezos, "with a capital A." And that's the point: Jeffrey Preston Bezos is trying to assemble nothing less than Earth's biggest selection of goods, then put them on his website for people to find and buy. Not just physical things that you can touch, but services...
...incredibly risky. How elastic is the Amazon brand name? How much can you stretch it until it simply explodes and becomes meaningless to consumers? And how long can the money hold out? Bezos has already burned through a bank's worth of cash with no sign of slowing down. If anything, he's upping the ante--according to estimates, the company's net loss could be $350 million this year alone...
...commerce world has changed enormously since Seattle-based Amazon jumped out to its "first-mover" advantage. There are plenty of second, third and fourth movers to battle. They come in the form of category killers that overwhelm you with selection, expertise, price and service for a given class of goods. Adornis.com is bauble central for luxury items, for instance, and Petopia.com is one of dozens of sites that will shower you and your doggie with selection. On the other side are e-malls such as Buy.com and Shopnow.com Traditional retailers are making the transition...
...sheer number of competitive websites alone will put pressure on Amazon's growth--one reason Bezos is adding categories as fast as he can. During the past year, he's added video games and DVD movies, toys, electronics, software, home-improvement products, auctions and zShops--an online flea market where anyone can sell anything. Bezos says he wants to double his offerings again next year. The company also has minority stakes in other e-commerce companies such as Drugstore.com Pets.com HomeGrocer.com Gear.com and Della.com a wedding and gift registry...
Bezos, naturally enough, is unmoved by the naysaying because he's convinced that as more customers come to his site, he'll be able to offer the lowest prices. And they will come because Amazon simply does the best job of helping them find stuff. But what if they use his site for research, then go elsewhere for the cheapest price? Bezos has considered that as well. And he has a possible solution: "Membership clubs!" he says. "If you want to see all the information we collect on Amazon--the customer reviews, the professional reviews and use our agenting technology...